Homegrown

Illustrated Bites from Your Garden to Your Table

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• Publisher: Stewart, Tabori & Chang
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781617691492
• eBook ISBN: 9781613127865
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Culinary Arts

Whether your idea of gardening is a tomato plant on your fire escape or a pumpkin patch in the yard, Homegrown is the ultimate guide to growing your own food and eating it, too! With clear and uncomplicated illustrations, author Heather Hardison guides readers through the process of planting, growing, harvesting, and preparing more than 25 of the tastiest, easy-to-grow vegetables and small fruits—such as spinach, kale, artichokes, and pears—and cooking them into seasonal, clean, and delicious offerings—including Fava Bean Crostini, Tomato and Watermelon Gazpacho, and Parsnip Hummus. Using Homegrown's tips for stocking your own unprocessed pantry, growing your own herbs, and pickling and canning the last of your bounty, anyone can learn to eat from the ground up. Part cookbook, part gardening guide, Homegrown is the perfect excuse to start a small container garden, cook a few seasonal dishes, and see where it takes you!

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Spring is my favorite season; it promises warmth, more light, and fresh starts. Spring is the time to get your hands dirty and get your garden started. I love to go shopping for seeds and figure out what vegetables I want to plant for the coming months. Starting seedlings indoors (see this page) brings new life into your home. It’s just so lovely and homey to have all my seedlings sprouting on the windowsills.

This season’s recipes capture the qualities that I like most about spring: crisp flavors, colorful produce, and all-around freshness. Make them on their own or as part of a full spring meal to bring the outside in.

HOW TO GROW FAVA BEANS

Fava beans grow best in moist soil that is 60° to 65°F (16° to 18°C). In the northern United States and Canada, plant the beans as early as the soil can be worked. Fava beans actually germinate well in cool soil, and the plants can tolerate temperatures as low as 15°F (-9°C). In areas with a mild winter, such as the Pacific Northwest and the South, fava beans can even be planted in the late fall or winter for an early spring crop.

When you’re ready to plant, sow your seeds eye down, 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) deep and 4 inches (10 cm) apart. When they’re about 2 inches (5 cm) high, thin them to every 8 inches (20 cm). The plants will grow 2 to 4 feet (61 to 122 cm) tall, so they should be staked while they’re young — a strong wind could ruin plants that are heavy with beans.

Harvest the pods when they’re about 6 inches (15 cm) long. They should look full but not over-bulging. Once the weather warms up, aphids could become a problem; blast them off with a strong spray of water, or snap off and discard the sections of the plant where the bugs congregate.

HOW TO PEEL FAVA BEANS

SERVES 4 TO 6

Shelling fava beans certainly takes some effort, but their buttery texture and nutty flavor are worth the trouble. Once the fava beans are shelled, this appetizer comes together quickly and maximizes your efforts, literally spreading the reward around. The nuttiness of the fava beans is complemented by the clean, crisp flavors of the lemon juice and mint, and the crunch of the toast adds a great contrast to the soft spread. If you’re planning a dinner party, you can shell the beans the night before and the whole thing can be prepared in 15 minutes. You can substitute lima beans or edamame for the favas if you’d like.

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BAGUETTE, SLICED ON THE BIAS

¼ CUP (60 ML) PLUS 1 TO 2 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL

1 CLOVE GARLIC

1 CUP SHELLED FAVA BEANS (1¼ POUNDS / 570 G IN SHELL)

4 TEASPOONS LEMON JUICE

¼ TEASPOON GRATED LEMON ZEST

½ TEASPOON SALT

MINT LEAVES FOR GARNISH (1 PER TOAST)

PARMESAN CHEESE, SHAVED (ABOUT 2 OUNCES/55 G)

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Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Arrange the baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and drizzle them with the 1 to 2 tablespoons oil. Slice the clove of garlic lengthwise and rub the cut side all over the top of the bread slices. Put it aside. Toast the bread in the oven for 9 to 10 minutes, until golden. Peel the fava beans from their outer shell following the instructions on this page. Put the fava beans, the remaining ¼ cup (60 ml) oil, the lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until you have a mixture that is blended but still has a little texture (it shouldn’t be completely smooth like hummus). Put a healthy dollop of the fava mixture on each piece of toast. Top with some cheese and a mint leaf and serve.

HOW TO GROW ASPARAGUS

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables. It’s so versatile and has the most wonderful vegetal flavor. Asparagus gardening is a commitment, and best for folks who don’t move often. It requires a dedicated spot in your garden and it takes a few years before your first harvest, but the same plants will provide you with asparagus for twenty years or longer.

Asparagus is a perennial, and the part we eat is actually the young shoots that come up in the spring. After a few weeks of harvesting the shoots, the asparagus plant grows into ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• SPRING
• SUMMER
• FALL
• WINTER
• PRESERVE THE HARVEST
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• SOURCES
• RESOURCES
• INDEX OF SEARCHABLE TERMS